Author(s)

William E. Brooks

Reston, VA, USA.

A horn spoon is a modern gold prospector’s field assay tool that is used to determine the amount of gold in an alluvial or crushed gold ore sample. The modern horn spoon is ～16 cm long, concave, flared at one end, and is made from a black ox-horn. The rough, black interior of the horn spoon holds and shows the gold “colors” or chispitas. Four Pre-Columbian ceramic spoons recovered from the El Brujo archaeological site in northern Perú are similar in length, concave form, flared lip, and most importantly, have post-firing, black-painted interiors. The similarities in size, form, shape and especially the interior color indicate that these ceramic spoons are consistent with use as ancient gold assay tools.

Horn Spoon, Alluvial Gold, Assay, Moche

Brooks, W. (2017) Pre-Columbian Gold Assay Spoons from El Brujo, Perú. Archaeological Discovery, 5, 95-99. doi: 10.4236/ad.2017.52006.